The age-old question lingers: What unfolds after death? These individuals claim to have glimpses of an answer.
10. It dawned on me: That’s Jesus.
In 2015, 17-year-old Zack Clements collapsed during his Christian high school’s gym class, and his heart ceased beating for a full 20 minutes as medical professionals worked tirelessly to revive him. During this unconscious state, Clements claims to have witnessed a line of white angels, with the most beautiful one in the middle, eventually revealed to be Jesus. Recounting the experience, he shared, “He put his hand on my shoulder and said I’ll be alright,” as reported by People. Despite skeptics questioning the authenticity of the teen’s account, the remarkable fact remains that he was successfully resuscitated after 20 minutes without lasting brain damage, considered a medical marvel.
09. My entire being was filled with love.
In 1983, Dave Bennett, chief engineer of an underwater research vessel, faced a life-altering experience when he was thrown into the ocean. Despite his education on signs of oxygen deprivation, as he drowned, he encountered something beyond his knowledge. A profound sense of omnipresence accompanied him, dissolving the darkness into light, drawing him towards it. Describing the sensation at an International Association for Near-Death Studies conference, Bennett shared, “There were waves of love wrapping me in a warm embrace, permeating my being and transforming me.” Approaching the light, he perceived it as countless fragments, eventually encountering what he interpreted as a second “soul family” reliving his life from different perspectives. Instructed to return and fulfill his purpose, after 18 minutes underwater, he resurfaced.
08. Golden orbs gracefully sweeping through the air.
In 2008, neurosurgeon Eben Alexander, MD, slipped into a coma due to a rare form of meningitis afflicting only one in ten million people. With just a 10 percent chance of survival, he found himself rescued by a slowly spinning clear white light accompanied by a musical melody. Describing the experience on his website, he mentioned entering a Gateway Valley filled with Earth-like and spiritual wonders – vibrant plant life, waterfalls cascading into crystal pools, joyful beings dancing, and golden orbs soaring in the sky. Waking up after a week, Alexander remarkably suffered no brain damage. His book “Proof of Heaven” delves into the details of his extraordinary encounter.
07. I was afraid
At 19, NDERF contributor Laurie faced a life-threatening situation during a rafting trip, being swept into rapids and trapped beneath the surface. Convinced she was going to die as water filled her lungs, her experience transcended into a tunnel of black and white. Laurie found herself in a room, seemingly crafted from pure white clouds but not solid, with three beings made of shimmering crystal. These beings transformed into angelic figures with fiber optic cable-like wings emanating pure light and telepathically delivering messages. The angels presented a vision of a golden field with beautiful music, a tree, and a lake. A kayaking rescuer eventually brought her to safety.
06. A profound sense of peace and happiness enveloped me entirely.
Approximately two decades ago, orthopedic surgeon Mary C. Neal, MD, faced a near-drowning incident while kayaking in Chile, leading to her heart stopping for over half an hour. Reflecting on the experience, she shared on mindbodygreen, “Soon after leaving my body, I was greeted by a group of beings who were simultaneously familiar and unfamiliar. This may sound strange, but I felt nothing but peace and happiness in their company.” In the state of separation from her physical body, Neal was aware of both the heavenly realm and the events unfolding on the riverbank where the incident occurred. Her thoughts centered on family, omitting earthly concerns. Inspired by her experience, she authored the book “7 Lessons from Heaven.”
05. I had the vision of seeing a white light
While filming the 1988 movie “Onassis,” actress Jane Seymour entered anaphylactic shock due to a misadministration of bronchitis antibiotics. Reflecting on the incident, she recounted to the Omaha World-Herald in 2016, “I had the vision of seeing a white light and looking down and seeing myself in this bedroom with a nurse frantically trying to save my life, and I’m calmly watching this whole thing.” Speaking to HuffPost later, Seymour elaborated on how the experience transformed her perspective: “I remember looking down at this body that was mine, realizing I wasn’t in it, and I totally grasped the concept that your body is really a vehicle. You need to service it like a car.”
04. Time folded in on itself.
The Near-Death Experience Research Foundation (NDERF) compiles narratives from those who have glimpsed the “other side.” One account involves a four-year-old girl in the hospital with a high-grade fever causing hallucinations. Feeling her toes touch the bed’s foot, she opened her eyes to see her non-corporeal form rising out of the building. Describing the experience, she wrote, “I began browsing through time, detailing events before I could speak… As I ascended, a profound sense of peace enveloped me. Time folded in on itself—no past, present, or future as we know it. There were no fears or worries; everything happened now. Drifting towards a beautiful light, I yearned to touch it. Suddenly, a pop occurred, as if attached to a cord, and someone jerked me down.”
03. I sensed my soul, or something akin, separating from my body.
While serving the American Red Cross in Italy during World War I, Ernest Hemingway suffered severe injuries from a mortar bomb. In his characteristic style, he described the near-death experience to a friend, saying, “I felt my soul or something coming right out of my body, like you’d pull a silk handkerchief out of a pocket by one corner. It flew around and then came back and went in again, and I wasn’t dead anymore.”
02. The brightness was intense.
Annabel Beam, diagnosed with two life-threatening disorders at age four, reached a breaking point at eight. In an inexplicable incident, she fell from a tree branch, got trapped for six hours, and believes she died, visiting heaven. Describing the experience to TODAY, she recalled, “It was really bright, and I sat on Jesus’s lap, and he told me, ‘Whenever the firefighters get you out, there will be nothing wrong with you.’” She asked to stay, but Jesus insisted she had Earthly plans to fulfill. Upon waking, her illness miraculously vanished. Her mom penned the book “Miracles from Heaven,” later adapted into a film.
01. Pure love. Unconditional and absolute.
After a challenging four-year battle with lymphatic cancer, Anita Moorjani slipped into a coma in 2006. Doctors believed it was the end, unaware that in her near-death state, she retained consciousness. Floating above her body, she experienced a “360-degree peripheral vision” of the hospital room and beyond. Although unable to see her late father, she sensed his presence and received a message. He conveyed that she had reached her limit and turning back was necessary. Despite the reluctance to return, the experience was overwhelmingly beautiful, devoid of pain, discomfort, and fear. Moorjani felt enveloped in an extraordinary sense of love—unconditional love. Approximately 30 hours later, she reawakened from the coma, and within two days, her organs resumed function, and tumors began to shrink. Now cancer-free, she is a public speaker and the author of books like “What If This Is Heaven?”.